The present invention relates to ski release bindings in general and in particular to the Spademan safety release systems shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,370 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,227.
In each of the patents referred to there is disclosed and described a ski release system comprising a housing, a pair of side-clamping members which are movable relative to the housing in opposite directions generally perpendicular to the lateral edges thereof, a connecting member or other means which is movably coupled to the side-clamping members for moving the side-clamping members, and a resilient member in an overcenter release mechanism coupled to the connecting member for applying a spring force to the side-clamping members through the connecting member. For use in cooperation with the side-clamping members, there is also provided a separable plate or similar device for releasably binding a ski boot and a ski.
Depending on the embodiment, the movable side-clamping members are mounted on a ski, and the plate member is mounted on the bottom of a ski boot between the ball of the foot and heel thereof, as shown in the above U.S. Patents 26,972 and 3,606,370. Alternatively, the movable side-clamping members comprising plate-like members having an exterior contour like the plate member in the above patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,370 are mountedto or in the bottom of a ski boot and the plate or similar apparatus in the form of fixed jaw-like members is mounted on a ski, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,227.
To open and close the side-clamping members relative to the plate in the above described patented bindings, it is necessary to move the overcenter release mechanism by hand. For example, to open the side-clamping members, it is necessary to move the overcenter mechanism by hand from a horizontal position in which it is applying a spring force to the side-clamping members for holding the clamping members in a clamping position, pivotably upwardly for releasing the spring tension on the connecting member and side-clamping members so as to permit the side-clamping members to spread for receiving or releasing the plate member from therebetween. Conversely, to enter the binding, the plate member is placed between the side-clamping members, and the overcenter release mechanism is pivoted from its vertical or raised position downwardly to a position substantially horizontal to the ski for applying the spring force to the connecting member and side clamping members.
In practice, the operation of the overcenter release mechanism to enter and leave the binding has been found to be inconvenient and often difficult. This is because a skier must either bend over and manually grasp the overcenter release mechanism or use a ski pole tip to move the mechanism. With regard to the latter practice, depending on the angular position of the tension-adjusting knob at the end of the overcenter release mechanism, it is frequently difficult to insert the tip of a ski pole thereagainst without having the ski pole tip slide therefrom. Bending over and grasping the overcenter release mechanism by hand is difficult, especially if a skier is wearing bulky clothes. This type of operation is also inconvenient and difficult because a skier must bend over or use a ski pole tip to activate the mechanism while attempting to retain the position of the plate member between the side-clamping members. If the ski slope is steep or irregular, the snow conditions deep or slippery, the skier often must frustratingly repeat the operation several times before successfully engaging the boot plate in the clamping members.
For these reasons, it is desirable to be able to simply step into the binding to enter the binding and to have a simpler means for stepping out of the binding than has been heretofore possible.